Playground slide



Feb. 8,, 1949. G. WLPACKR 2,46L345 PLAYGRoUNb sLIpn r Filed Dec. s, 19215 E'UHIDUN W F'IIIC'HEF? Patented Feb. 8, 19 49 parten STAT satsar seie Application -December 3, 1945, SerialNo. 632.313

v 1 'The present iinvention .relates to ra' play slide assembly and more particularly `to such assembl-ies vhaving 'novel lsafety and lc'onstru'ctional fea-` tur'es.

Play s'lides 'of the V"character described 'are conventionally flconstruct'ed 'of 'wood and are of such design as to be un's'afe for iu'se by children. .Accordinglto the 'present in've'ntion, the 'slide assembly .'-i's 'of all st'e''l construction thereby elimin'a'ting the possibility of fspli-n'ters. F-ui'therinore, there Lis provided -a standing platform below the extreme top of the slide providing la safety 'pocket in which children using the slide may stand,

rather than at the extreme top where they' are more likely to fall. J'fllheslide also provides a novel I chute having a novel hand rall.

These and other objects residing in the arrangement, combination and construction of the parts will be apparent from the following specification when taken with the accompanying drawings, inwhich Fig. l is a perspective view of the invention,

Fig. 2 is a sectional view of the chute taken at a point intermediate to upper and lower ends.

Fig. 3 is an enlarged view of the upper end of the chute.

Fig. 4 is a perspective view showing the bare chute and steps folded together and the hand rail removed.

Referring particularly to the drawings, the reference character l indicates a chute preferably of sheet metal having a load Supporting portion 2 Iand side guiding rails 3. The chute l is provided with the usual lower portion .4 at a'lesser i angle to the horizontal than the main portion of the chute for thevpurpose of checking speed. At this lower portion of the chute I are provided supports 5.

The upper portion 6 of the chute I has disposed on each side thereof,l a gusset plate 'l which has edges 8 in alignment with the guiding rails 3 and other edges 9 extending at an angle substantially 'l' Claim's. Cl. 272-465) less :tha-n .-1ao from the direction of the 7esgesfs.

iii'

While fi't 'is :convenient to use gusset plates l, gusset iplates 'as 'such 'are not essential and it is therefore conternplat'ed that in the claims where v the term gusset plate is used, equivalent devices .are included, such as one or'more tie 'bars (not shownfi) for example. i

i "rne guiding :rails s have seemed as by wemingv directly to v.the upper Zedges thereof hand rails in' the form of tubular pipe lil. The pipe lil extends along the 'edges 8 and `9 of the gusset plate "l contin'uously lfrom 'the vguiding railv 3. The pipe v'lil has the advantage of providing a smooth, non-l splntering,v safety hand rail and at the same timeTprovid-ing aconsiderable degree of stiifening to'the chute. `The plates 'l :may be welded to the rail :3 and'the pipe id may be/welded to the edges 8 and 9 of the plates l. Y fl 'The upper port-font; of the chute l is supported in an elevated'position by steps l5 which include side rails lt. 'The side rails IB are pivoted about pins fil -to the gusset plates 'l so as to permit the steps i 5 'to pivotinto the position shown in Fig. 4. This 'feature of the 'invention permits the ready folding up of the slide'for transportation'and storage purpose's. vThe pipes l on'the 'ed'ge's of the gusset plates away from the chute edges,

serve asfstops to lOpening pivotal movementof thc-'steps 15 with respect to the chute l.

A safety feature 4of 'the invention of considerable importance resides in the positioning of the upper step 20. The step 20 is supported by the gusset plates 1 and is provided with a riser 2! which intersects directly the load Supporting portion 2 of the chute l. The step 20 together with the riser Zl and gusset plates 1 provide a pocket i in which a user of the slide stands just previous to stepping into the chute l for sliding down the same. The pocket has the result of Supporting a user of the slide somewhat below the uppermost position and gives lateral support by virtue of the riser 2l and gusset plates l. Thus a user of the slide is less likely to fall than should the uppermost step be dispcsed at the extreme top of the chute l as is Conventional. The riser 21 may be integral with the load supporting portion 2 of the chute or may be a separate member welded in position. The steps l5 are provided with safety hand rails 25, secured at the lower end to the side rails f and at the' upper end to the gusset plates l. The connection between the rails 25 and the gusset plates 1 is made through a metallic disc 26, one being secured to theinside of each rail 25 at a position opposite its adjacent gusset plate l. A bolt 21 extends through the two gusset plates 'I and the disc 28 to clamp the discs 26 to the gusset plates 1. When the slide is folded as shown in Fig. 4, the hand rail 25 may be first removed along with the disc 26 by removing the bolt 21. i

While a specific form of the invention has been disclosed, defining the particular features of the invention, it is contemplated that the features of the invention may be inoorporated in other specific slide forms. Accordingly, I do not wish to be limited except by the scope of the following claims.

Having thus described my invention, what .I desire to secure by Letters Patent and claim is:

l. A play slide assembly comprising .a chute having a load Supporting portion and side guiding rails having upper edges, a gusset plate at each side of one end of said chute, said gusset plates having edges in alignment with said guiding rails and extending in one direction, said plates having edges extending in parallel relation in another direction at an angle substantially less than l80 from said first-named direction, a step supported Yby said gusset plates, a riser for said step supported by said gusset plate and intersecting directly said load supporting portion of said chute, said step and riser forming a safety pocket forusers of the slide to stand, in a position below the top of said chute, and means to support said gusset plate end of said chute in an elevated position, said Supporting means including means to provide access to said first-named step.

2. The invention as defined in claim 1 wherein hand rails in the form of tubular pipes are secured to the upper edges of said guiding rails, said hand rails extending along aforesaid edges of said gusset plates respectively.

3. A play slide assembly comprising a chute having a load Supporting portion and side guiding rails having upper edges,.a gusset plate at each side of one end of said chute, said gusset plates having edges in alignment With said guiding rails and extending in one direction, said plates having edges extending in parallel relation in another direction at an angle substantially less than 180 from said first-named direction, a step-supported by said gusset plates, a riser for said step supported by said gusset plates and intersecting directly said load Supporting portion of said chute, said step and riser forming a safety pocket for users of the slide to stand, in a position below the top of said chute, hand rails secured to said upper edges of said guiding rail, steps to support said gusset plate end of said chute in elevated position, and means to pivot said steps to said gusset plate.

4. The invention as defined in claim 3 wherein said hand rails on the second named edges of said gusset plates are disposed in normal position against said steps, whereby said portions of said hand rails serve as stops to prevent pivotal movement of said steps.

5. A play slide assembly comprising a chute having a. load Supporting portion, means to support one end of said chute in an elevated position, a step spaeed downwardly from the upper end of said chute and in alinement with the longitudinal axis thereof, and a riser for said step intersecting directly With the load Supporting portion of said chute, whereby said step and riser form a pocket for users of the slide to stand in, in a position below the top of said chute, and the intersection of said riser with the load supporting portion of said chute discourages the standing by users of the chute at the extreme upper portion thereof as a safety measure.

6. The invention as defined in claim 1 wherein there are provided means for pivoting said supporting means to the gusset plates.

7. The inventionV as defined in claim 1 wherein the Supporting means .is in the form of a ladder and there is provided means for pivoting the ladder to the gusset plate.

I GORDON W. PACKER.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS i Number Name Date 1,526,680 Rees Feb. 17, 1925 l,680,753 Thornton Aug. 14, 1928 2,l29,909 Burke Sept. 13, 1938' FOREIGNv PATEN'I'S Number Country Date li02,259 Great Britain Nov, 30, 1933 

